Paper long abstract:

Abstract: In this case study of tuberculosis in a small village in Tsumkwe district, Namibia, I discuss how, why and when Ju/'hoansi sufferers utilize various knowledge traditions and medicines to treat their ill health under circumstances of scarcity, as well as their lack of power. This paper shows how different notions concerning tuberculosis and TB-like complaints were distinguished and treated with medication in relation to symptomology, medical diagnostics and its absence and embodied experiences of illness. The paper scrutinises the uneasy and complex interface between various treatment practises and medication regimens and the understanding thereof in relation to tuberculosis in the experience of a Ju/'hoan (San) man and his family.